I have been quite impressed with Ed McGuinness these days, because for a long period of time I have not been. His work on Hulk was too caricaturist and almost seemed to be geared towards children. But since the run on Nova I have warmed to him quite nicely because he has lost his adolescent over-exaggeration. His moderated pencils integrate seemlessly with Aaron’s X-school thematic, as he brings out the teenage pomposity. But forget all that because this cover is about one man, the return of Kurt Wagner aka Nightcrawler! Not only does it feature a long lost X-Man but Ed captures his swashbuckling persona as he swings across a mast with cutlass in hand. His pose is almost kung-fu in nature as he fully flexes and extends, displaying his physical prowess, whilst in the air. His visage is demonic as ever but also beaming with a smile, as McGuiness captures his optimistic and playful nature. It has been such a long time since we have seen Kurt and this cover shows the full extent of his exuberance and cheerfulness. The actual double page splash of this cover directs Nightcrawler to his enemy, his own father, Azazel. The X-Men on the ship in the background include new additions to the crew, namely Firestar and Northstar, filling the void left by Kitty. The excitement builds as we can now see the development of the schoolteachers and how they may bond. As irritating it is having a further X-title, I am very excited about this first arc and cannot wait to see more of our revered and resurrected friend.
House Of Flying Scalpels 
I really enjoyed this issue, great to see Nightcrawler back again, awesome cover as well!